The present invention relates to stabilized liquid-in-liquid dispersions or emulsions.
Traditional emulsions are made up of two phases: a dispersed phase and a continuous phase. The most common emulsions consist of only two liquids, water and oil. An o/w (oil-in-water) emulsion consists of oil droplets dispersed in a continuous aqueous phase, and a w/o (water-in-oil) emulsion consists of water droplets dispersed in oil. Multiple emulsions may be formed, for example, when water droplets in a continuous oil phase themselves contain dispersed oil droplets. Emulsification consists of the break-up of large droplets into smaller droplets due to shear forces. Typically, emulsifiers are used to stabilize emulsions through a reduction in interfacial tension. Increasing the viscosity of the continuous phase may also prevent phase separation of emulsions.